Unsteady
by Raya Morgenstern
Summary: She was ready to leave her past behind. Life had presented her with a fresh start. So why not take it? Abusive fathers, terrible rumors, fake friends and deceitful lovers — they couldn't catch up to her now. Could they? She wouldn't let anyone in. AU. AH. Jace/Clary/Sebastian. Polyamorous. xo


_Hello! So I've had the idea for this story for a while, and I've stopped being a master of procrastination to finally start writing. I really hope you like it!_

"Are you kidding me?" Clary looked up to find Jonathan Morgenstern, in all his overprotective elder brother glory, frowning at her as she descended the stairs. She raised her eyebrows—both of them, due to her inability to raise a single one at a time—and gave him a questioning look.

"What?" She asked, her tone mock-innocent.

" _That_ ," he said, folding his arms across his chest and eyeing her outfit pointedly. Clary looked down at herself. She was wearing a black tube top and high-waisted ripped jeans, with a black leather jacket and combat boots. Usually this wasn't the type of thing she would wear, her style was more about baggy shirts and comfy leggings, but she'd decided to shake things up a bit on moving here to New York. It was a fresh start; new city, new style, new her.

"Oh, yeah? And what's wrong with this?" She knew what his answer would be even before his lips had time to part.

"You know it will have boys all over you," Jon said, shaking his head and turning away to walk into the kitchen.

Clary rolled her eyes, before following after him. At the counter stood her mother Jocelyn Morgenstern, who smiled and greeted her children and turned to start serving breakfast. "Well, better take advantage of these Morgenstern good looks, shouldn't I? God knows you do, Jon."

"I guess you have a point," he sighed. "But I'm gonna be watching you and whoever even looks at you the wrong way. I won't hesitate to kick their ass," he said as he sat down at the table. Clary took a seat next to him and conversation flowed easily and seamlessly, and soon breakfast was served, which both siblings gobbled down. After all, who wanted an empty stomach on the first day of starting high school in a new state?

It took only fifteen minutes, after which they were ready and heading out, waving goodbye to a slightly emotional Jocelyn who gave a kiss and a hug to both of them. They'd already been given a tour of the school along with having their timetables handed to them, since they were practically joining mid-term. Clary was a junior and Jon was a year older than her, making him a senior. Though Clary didn't like boasting and kept a low profile about it, the Morgensterns were loaded. Valentine Morgenstern had been successful and wealthy, one of the top businessmen in the city.

So it made sense for each of them to have a car of their own. Clary slid into the driver's seat of her sleek black convertible, its top retracted, as Jon climbed into his SUV. Her car purred smoothly when she revved the engine, whereas Jon's roared. It was going to be a race to their destination, just like always. She threw on her shades and smirked over at Jon as they pulled out of the driveway. As soon as they were on the road, side by side, both siblings shouted at once. "You're on!"

And so they raced away into the sunrise.

...

Engines still revving, the two siblings pulled into the parking lot of Idris High. None of them won, both having arrived at the same time. Fortunately there had been two empty spaces next to each other, and they climbed out of their vehicles, teasing each other about how the other should have lost. Only after a minute or two of having their fun with each other did they realize that a sort of crowd had started to form. Other people who had been milling about or heading inside had slowed down in their tracks, curious about the new kids. Of course word had got out, Clary thought, about the two who would be joining their school mid-term after having moved here for some unknown—confidential—reasons.

She turned around to look at her brother, who had a smirk on his face. Clary then started to notice their expressions. Most of the girls were clearly drooling over Jon and checking him out—which wasn't a surprise. Jonathan was six feet tall, with platinum-blonde hair, forest green eyes, looks as pale and cold as ice, and overall looked like a teenage God with a lean and muscular build. It would be a surprise if they _weren't_ checking him out.

Clary felt triumphant when she noticed boys checking her out as well. Normally she wouldn't like all this attention, but she wanted to welcome changes this time round. It wasn't like she wouldn't stand out anyway; she was short, only five foot three, with freckles spattered over her face and unruly, flaming red hair to go with a pair of bright green eyes. She looked like a porcelain doll, flawlessly pale skinned and fragile and easily breakable. But there was not a doubt to anyone who knew her that the latter was just from the outside.

Just then, some sort of commotion seemed to have started at the outer edges of the crowd. She faintly heard someone declaring their presence, and then the crowd parted as if giving way to some VIP. When she saw who it was, she was stunned for a moment. She didn't recognize the boy, no, he was a stranger. And it was cheesy, but he looked like the closest thing to an angel she'd ever seen. The boy had silky golden hair that curled at the nape of his neck, his skin seemed to have a sort of golden sheen to it, and the most mesmerizing were his eyes—which were golden as well. And they seemed to bore right into hers. He was clad head to toe in black. His nose was pierced, and the silver nose ring gleamed as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" He drawled, looking them up and down. "They're just some new kids. Go on about your daily lives, people, there isn't a concert going on here. Don't make a crowd, get out of here."

The boy seemed cocky, and like he believed himself to be better than others. Just like Jon, Clary thought with an internal roll of her eyes. His words had caused the crowd to stir reluctantly, but they hadn't moved yet. He started towards the two siblings, but stopped midway and threw the barest glance over his shoulder, running a hand through his hair as he barked out, "Do I need to repeat myself?"

This time the crowd instantly scattered. Clary snorted to herself; he was definitely one of the most popular guys here. _No shit,_ Clary thought. With looks like that, who wouldn't be? Anyone could guess just looking at him that he was aware of exactly how attractive he was and could charm his way through anything.

Clary looked on as he smirked and continued towards them, his body lithe and cat-like, more graceful than her clumsy self could ever hope to be. She could see the corded veins in his arms as he held out a hand to Jonathan, who looked wary but shook the boy's hand firmly.

"Jace Herondale. Pleasure to meet you," the boy who now had a name just as perfect as he was, smirked.

Jon raised an eyebrow, and though his demeanor was cool and indifferent, Clary knew he was still a bit suspicious. He took his time letting his guard down; people could always be deceitful. "Jonathan Morgenstern. Nice to meet you too."

The golden boy then turned to Clary. "I'm assuming you're his sister, though you look nothing alike. Pleasure to meet you, too...?" He left his sentence hanging, waiting for her to introduce herself.

Clary just raised her eyebrows, keeping her expression unreadable. Yes, she'd dressed up and even arrived in a way that she knew would no doubt draw attention, but that didn't mean she had to open up to the first person who came up to her—no matter how good-looking they may be. If Jon took a while to let his guard down, Clary took even longer. Circumstances in the past had taught her a perfectly good lesson on that. "Clary Morgenstern. Now, if you don't mind, we need to get to class," she linked arms with Jon, who managed to look slightly apologetic, and dragged him away from an amused Jace. She hadn't meant to be so rude, but she couldn't help it.

She could feel his eyes boring holes in her back. She could have sensed his own arrogant, tough 'you can't touch me' façade from a mile away. She was barely fooled by anyone now.

What was it with pretty people and guarded pasts?

 _Kindly leave a review, tell me what you think! Each one would be like a hug to my little heart and will make my day. Much love and hugs xo_


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